The horrible news out of Connecticut this morning should help us all to put things in their proper perspective. It is not possible to find the words to describe the anquish, pain, despair, anger, grief and desolation that has now engulfed the families of all those impacted by the contemptible actions of a worthless maggot whose warped mind somehow convinced himself that the methodical slaughter of innocent human beings, especially little children, was nothing of consequence.
"...Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes". (Matt 18: 6-7).
Just the other day it was another senseless shooting in an Oregon mall. Not all that long ago we remember the terrible shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.
These tragedies remind us of the brevity and uncertainty of life and of our own mortality. They are also a sad testimony to the decay in our culture and the decline of our nation. We are witnessing a breakdown in ethics, virtue, and morality, as well as the loss of the sense of righteousess versus sin, and the blurring of the lines between good and evil that has marked the fall of every great civilization throughout history.
Sadly, there is NOTHING politicians can do to deal with the moral rot that has now infected this land. Changing the human heart lies solely in the province of the Almighty. But as more and more He is banished to the outskirts of society, as His laws are treated with contempt if not indifference or even mockery, what can one expect? Human nature, left to itself is no different than a dead fish - it cannot swim upstream but always follows the path of least resistance and that path always tends towards corruption.
I fear for our nation's future in a way I have never feared for it before at any point in my life. What area of our society has not been coarsened? Whether it is in the financial realm where far too often these days it seems we witness fraud, decadence, vice, etc. or in the culture, in its music, which seems to become more degraded with the passing of each year, or in so many of its movies which empitomize the empty souls of an increasingly larger and larger share of our population. Everywhere one looks it seems as if the nation is spiraling downward.
"Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any people" says the Scripture. Nothing further can be added to that except this:
"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.; they are MORE DESIRABLE THAN GOLD, YEAH, THAN MUCH FINE GOLD; sweeter also than the honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned, in keeping them there is great reward." (Psalm 19: 7-9).
Please keep these things in mind as we are reminded that it was at this season the Son of God came into this earth, to suffer and to die in the place of guilty sinners and to thereby offer His own spotless life as the REDEMPTION for all those who believe in Him. At times like this we are made mindful of the fact that we are all sinners and only but for the grace of God, there is no level to which we all might stoop were we left to ourselves.
Sadly, one wonders if that is not EXACTLY what the MOST HIGH is indeed doing to this nation. As He turns HIS BACK on us, in response to the nation turning its back on Him, I see no hope for any restoration of this once great nation's future.
Dan, this post moves me deeply. Thank you for your gutsy honesty in stating so clearly the spiritual conditions with which we as a country are moving. I couldn't agree with you more, and you stated it so well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all you provide for so many of us as we, with you, continue to seek honest money, honest means, honest values, and the honest path on which to peg our lives and existence. It is certain that this path always leads to peace, truth, provision, satisfaction, and true wealth -- regardless of the circumstances around us.
Dan, thank you for voicing what so many of us are feeling today. I agree with your thoughts and sentiments completely. It should be clear to all that study the bible and watch what is going on in this world that Satan rules the earth at this time. The evil one knows his time is short before Jehovah God's son Jesus Christ returns to bind the devil in chains and cast him into the pit while his demons and followers are destroyed.
ReplyDeleteThis is why we see such desperation of evildoers today and a ramping up of wickedness at this time. The US may be at a "fiscal cliff", but it's the spiritual cliff we should all be aware of, pray about and prepare for.
Dan, It gives me joy to know that you are a fellow believer.
ReplyDeleteAt a time like this, it is good to stay hopeful and encouraged, as hard as it may be.
"The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish." Proverbs 10:28
The living God is sovereign.
Dan, excellent word. My heart dropped today as I heard of this ugly crime. My prayers have been for these families robbed of their loved ones. My hope is that America would realize that putting God out of our schools was a serious mistake and we would ask His forgiveness and acknowledge that America has been the greatest nation on earth because God's hand has been upon us. As you have said Dan, without Him, there is no hope!
ReplyDeletePhil LaRose
Dan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts and readings. The news was playing in the lobby downstairs today prior to a daily walk across the street for something to eat. After watching the horror displayed on the Television delivering the news. I walked out and had this feeling like my troubles are miniscule compared to the surviving families of the innocent victims. I too, looked around the city of Baltimore and was eerily reminded of what degredation of culture surrounded me. Sirens blasting, the news ringing out the horrors of the day as hip hop screamed out of windows, even during a cold day. It was a surreal moment of reflection that brought on a prayer lifted up to god, God help us. No action can possibly stop a very sick and sinful man except the word of God. God help the families.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan, our prayers go out to the families of this tragic event. I wish that we could keep our religious beliefs to ourselves and our families, where they belong. Your religious beliefs are your own and you are welcome to them. Please dont use religious context to describe what has happened. There cannot be any godly (or lack thereof) explanation of such tragic events. Keep up the good financial work we have come to expect from you.
ReplyDeleteJim-
DeleteNormally I do not waste valuable time replying to fools but in your case I will make an exception.
I am sick and tired of those of your ilk condemning me and others of my faith for sharing what we believe is the source of the moral rot in this nation.
This society is rotting internally and its moral decline is being reflected in all aspects of the culture. You may not agree with my assessement of that but quite frankly I do not give a damn whether or not you agree.
If reading my comments on the decline of our nation offends you, then stop coming to the site and go elsewhere. I do not intend to change my views merely because you do not happen to agree with them.
You really have some hubris to take to the pages of someone's site and attempt to forbid them to voice their own opinions. How incredibly arrogant of a person you must be.
That being said, Merry Christmas to you although my using those words probably also offends you.
"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel" (Mark 16:15)- Jesus
Delete"keep our religious beliefs to ourselves and our families, where they belong" - Jim
I think I'll go with Jesus.
Great piece Dan. I'm glad you had the courage to write the truth.
Hi Dan - I believe you have misunderstood my intent. Reacting with such religious fervour only diminishes the message. Apologies if I have offended you.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you also. I wish you well.
Jim, if you had a clue as to what you were saying maybe someone would give you some credence. But you obviously have not been learned enough to understand the difference between religion and Christianity. Seems there are a lot of Christians here. Amen to that!
ReplyDeleteHi Dan,
ReplyDeleteI think this review of the book "When a Nation Forgets God: 7 Lessons We Must Learn from Nazi Germany" explains a lot of what is happening to the US.
http://www.wondall.com/en/comment/3723/When-a-Nation-Forgets-God:-7-Lessons-We-Must-Learn-from-Nazi-Germany-ebook-download-pdf-reviews.html
I might also suggest that a similar thing happened to Russia and China and that it is the same people (if you can call them that) who were behind it.
Peter
We have plenty of Bibles in America - this is not the problem.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is putting guns in the hands of lunatics.
Assigning this problem to "not enough Bibles" instead of "too many guns" is an affront to the youngsters in America who are being murdered. How is it that other countries that have far fewer Bibles, and far fewer guns, don't have these massacres every few months ?
December 14, 2012 5:34 PM
Your 100% wrong. Solve the problem at the core and at the root, guns aren't the problem. We have taken God and the 10 commandments out of public schools, out of society, this is only 1 result of a much bigger problem. Take away guns and the killers will only find another way to do evil. If you teach them the right way as a kid they will grow up and walk in it. God Bless.
DeleteInstant Karma;
DeleteYou assume the presence of Bibles means that they are read, understood, cherished and actually used to direct one's life.
Secondly, you assume the presence of a church that actually believes what is written therein is an authoritative guide to conduct and righteousness.
Thirdly, you conveniently forget, or perhaps are ignorant of, that from its early foundings Americans have always owned and possessed firearms. One does not find such frequent occurences of this sort of wicked violence 50 years ago in this nation.
Fourthly you are unaware of or are ignorant of the studies done by John Lott. You should acquaint yourself with these.
Lastly - and most importantly - cease putting words in my mouth or all of your subsequent posts to this site will be removed. I did not state anything about there not being enough bibles. You could dump them by the hundreds of thousands across this land and it would do nothing to solve the moral rot plaguing this nation unless at such time the words within them are actually treasured and abided by. One might as well stuff physics manuals under their pillows while they sleep at night expecting that to make them physicists as "having Bibles in the land".
The only affront I see here is that which is your disingeneous wresting of the clear meaning of my words, which by the way is the opinion of the proprietor of this site, namely myself.I will say the same thing to you as I have said to others - if my views are so offensive to you that you cannot help but waste all of our time in responding to them, then what in the world is wrong with you that you continue to come to this site and read the contents? No one is forcing you to read this site. Go elsewhere if you are that offended.
While I completely agree with these assessments of what is going on in our country, I can't ignore the fact the every civilization has that has ever existed has fallen. So I don't know that this is so much an American or religious condition as it is a human condition. I think a bit of a background in history will spell this out.
ReplyDeleteDan, there is no doubt to me in how much you care about the pain and suffering that we continue to inflict on ourselves as humans.
I don't personally know if this has anything to do with a god or not. I just don't know. But what I do firmly believe is that I need to constantly work on my own peace of mind.
For me it's about doing what I can to ease the conflict in my own mind and TRY to practice bringing about more peace and less fear in my life.
I do pray everyday. To what or whom may be different than someone else, but I do have hope that anyone would find it in themselves to try to find the same.
For me, if there is a god it's in the peace and quiet space between all the thoughts of conflict and war.
John G Steiner;
Deletethanks for the comments and the gracious spirit in which they were written. We both obviously have different views of God but would that there were far more people such as yourself who showed respect and tolerance for others.
"respect and tolerance for others?"
DeleteRecently published Trader Dan quote... "I despise Obama."
Moral decay is behind the gun violence in America?
The cost of the right to bear arms in the US... 12,000 lives a year. Yet in Japan any and all guns are banned (even by law enforcement), and there are LESS THAN TEN gun related fatalities a year.
Common sense, unaffected by ideology, would lead most to a very different conclusion.
SRV, respect and tolerance of others do not preclude one from righteously despising Obama and his overtly collectivist ilk for their role in the enabling of the moral decay that has been taking place in this country. It's not just Obama personally, he is just the latest (and most dangerous in my opinion) in a long line of collectivists who have been working tirelessly to undermine the moral strength of this nation for the last 100 years. You see SRV, the collectivists will not rest until they destroy every trace of the individual in their quest to rule over all people of planet Earth. Once they succeed in disarming a population, they begin to systematically round up citizens considered to be a threat to their rightful place as ruler for torture and murder. What I describe here is one of the oldest stories in the world as we know it. Nazi Germany and the USSR are perfect examples of this. The Founders gave us the 2nd Amendment so that we can protect ourselves from a tyrannical government. You speak of the cost of the right to bear arms in the U.S. What about the cost of not having the right to bear arms in Nazi Germany and the USSR? Millions and millions and millions of lives lost. I agree with Dan regarding the moral rot that has taken place in this nation and I see your opinions regarding respect, tolerance and gun violence to be symptomatic of that rot.
DeleteThe shooter had long-standing mental problems. I fail to see what someone's mental illness has to do with the political and social issues of the day.
ReplyDeleteUnknown - I almost (not quite there yet) feel pity for you as there is none so pitiful as those who willfully choose not to see.
DeletePerhaps you are too young to have lived in a different era and at a different time when occurrences such as these were not so common as they have become. Time and sadness prevents me from providing you a recap of similar events over the last few years all with different circumstances but all leading to the same tragic results.
You are free to contribute the all-too-obvious moral decline in our nation to whatever cause you can dream up. I have made clear what I believe the causative factor is in my view.
Meat, left without refrigeration or salt always decays. The "salt" and "refrigeration" of our society is losing its saltiness.
Human nature, left to itself, will always follow the path of decay. It takes a positive influence from outside to slow the process.
You can argue with me until you are blue in the face or until the seasons change but you will never convince me, or many others who read these pages for that matter, that this was an isolated innocent with no connection to a large symptom of societal rot.
Dan speaks the truth. Listen to him. This society has rejected the Master and the Master is rightfully rejecting it.
ReplyDeleteThis nation needs to repent, but I am not hopeful.
We followers of the Master need always remember that our citizenship is elsewhere , not in this world.
While we are here let us be salt and light.
Thanks Brother Dan - you are an inspiration, salt, and light.
great post!
ReplyDeleteGod Bless us all!
You dont have to be a christian or believe in a god for that matter to feel the pain in Dans words. For christians or islamists or buddists or whom ever one believes in or those that are agnostic,this is an horrific act which transends all beliefs.
ReplyDeleteAs Dan has stated, it didn't happen 30-60 years ago and the only common denominator here is the lack of social/moral fibre so evident in today's citizens.
Well said, Dan. The only hope for our nation is a genuine repentance on a national scale. Unfortunately people generally won't repent unless they are struck with great tragedy. I pray for those families that have suffered and pray that people will grieve before God, instead of attacking one another.
ReplyDeleteDan, thanks for your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThere is hope: The great I AM!
Dan, I am living in Belgium. Past winter, we had a similar event over here. It's really horrible, there are not words for it. I am afraid our society is on a worsening path. My personal belief is that most people will get back to our real roots in case of a painful event (unfortunately) and that media has accounted for standardizing the visuals of crime (the power of visualization). Even in cartoons it became "normal" over the past 10 years to show death and guns. Anyway, I was glad to read some spiritual words on your site.
ReplyDeleteTaki - thanks for the comments and especially for sharing from the Belgium perspective.
DeleteThis is a terrible tragedy. But it's important to put things in real historical perspective and avoid immediacy bias. While the US is still number one compared to developed nations in gun violence, gun-related homicides are actually way down according to the bureau of justice statistics. And according to the FBI the murder rate is below where it was in the 1950s. Mass murder rates in America were quite high in the period 1900 to 1940 when people were much more religious than they are now. Every society at every period has had people wringing their hands moaning how much worse people are now than they were before. The ancient Romans even had a term for it, laudator temporis acti, one who praises time past.
ReplyDeletehttp://themonkeycage.org/blog/2012/07/21/the-declining-culture-of-guns-and-violence-in-the-united-states/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ushomicidesbyweapon.svg
I think these kind of events are a not so much a direct consequence of the lack of religious belief but rather the intentional propagation of liberal ideas by the group of people who use liberalism as a tool to achieve worldwide domination (eg. Obama's handlers)
ReplyDeleteThey are not liberal themselves at all but they know that liberalism leads to carelessness, ignorance and chaos. It is much easier to conquer and control ignorant masses than people who cares about their country and each others.
Saying that traditional religions are definitely a good source to fight against this syndicate and their infectious disease called liberalism.
Although unfortunately they are way ahead of the curve.
By the way the most disgusting event (after the massacre itself of course) was Obama's pathetic acting performance of wiping his fake tears in live TV.
ReplyDeleteAs a sociopath who is personally responsible for the death of thousands of people he couldn't care less about those dead children.
Obama and Peace Nobel Price. Yeah, right.
Pathetic.
Dan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for so eloquently putting into words the thoughts I have but can't articulate without a ton of profain emotion.
They say all things happen for a reason.
For the life of me, I can't see how this can be for any good reason. I have to just trust that someday all of that will be clear.
Until then, I can only hope that maybe this will prompt Americans to simply stop supporting anything HollyWood, the music industry, and the game industry might put forth as entertainment that conveys such violence as we have come to expect from that crowd. Of coarse, not all are guilty and maybe those who are not will bring their leverage to bear
on the industries (as they tend to be from a generation or two ago).
Maybe folks will simply just stop buying the crap!
I'm very disappointed in the majority of this great nation for the way in which they have fallen victim to the shysters
who have sold them a bill of crappy goods. I know that most of these folks would reap great scorn from their grandparents. I also know that most of these folks are deep down (at heart) the fine core of what made this country great..... they simply have been hoodwinked by a bunch of trash.
Heaven help us for the next few years as we go through this hard learned lesson.
Foam_Ranger;
Deletethere are always those who want to insist that all these violent video games, violence-ladened music, etc, have no impact on those whom are constantly exposed to them but I cannot believe that for one moment.
After enough exposure to this stuff, people simply become desensitized and no longer recoil in the horror that they once did.
Far too many Americans, and I agree that i am painting with a very broad brush here, have lost the ability to even blush anymore. It seems as if the word, "SHAME" no longer has any meaning to this generation.
I couldn't agree more.
DeleteWhen a United States President lies under oath about a dress he really messed-up and that guy is not only allowed to stay in office but is years later revered by more than half of the country - not much in the realm of decay surprises me anymore.
I'm afraid this country has to hit hard rock solid bottom before it begins to correct. if we think of that as a strong support line on a chart, sadly it's still a long way away.... it will get worse before it gets better.
I've hated organized religion from childhood or at least early teens and i consider those who blindly follow "God's soldiers on Earth - Clergy" idiots but with having said that there is (as i got older and started to focus on this matters) something to be taken away from any religion and this is that when men and women decide to truly work together we get a society of Gods vastly overshadowing the mere sum of individuals. How each of those individuals comes to this whether from the teachings from the Bible, Koran or Miki Mouse is pretty much irrelevant. Further more i believe all those teachings were an attempt to put into words some natural (or supernatural i simply do not know) forces acting on men since the start of time and more we as society crumble the more its obvious that there is in fact a battle between good and evil. But which ever way we turn this argument WE HAVE A CHOICE, we have a mind and with both comes responsibility. For me evil is the lack of morals, superficial living and instant gratification, twisting of good (organized religion for example) for personal gain etc... I have come to believe that there actually are both Satan and God, perhaps not in one person but certainly in ideas, persons and actions. There is constant battle going on and as in this case we can clearly see and act of evil being performed however whats troubling is the (irrelevant of the cause whether those killings are some kind of conspiracy, plot or just random events) evil act itself is being exploited further for even more devilish agendas. Basically all religions or ancients texts which deal with spiritual talk about light and darkness, good and evil and whatever helps one person to choose light is something to be supported since regardless of our beliefs those who fight for the light are brothers in this dark dark place that has become Earth.
ReplyDeleteWith that i wish all peace of mind, happiness and may we all prevail in the next battles to come.
PS: To add some humor once we're all dead and if there is no oblivion and we meet on "Elysium" the ones being closest to the description of it buys beer for all the rest and gets eternal bragging rights :)
We are truly lost in a sea of relativity. A decade before we went to currency relativity in the 70's we went to moral relativity in the 60's. Someone wise once told us that our treasure was just a reflection of our heart. Coincidence?
ReplyDeleteAs a nation(world) we have lost absolutes. Constants. Standards. Ones that never change. We no longer believe they exist. It's all relative anyway we are told. Depends on the situation, right? Situational ethics? We are so cool, and 'progressive'.
Human beings need absolutes. NEED absolutes to function. We see this in the economic world as people turn to gold. They want something that has a basis that can't be moved. We hate 'devalueing' currencies. hmmmm De VALUE ing.
It is more true in the moral arena. We are devalueing our morals. Many people who trash Bernanke for printing all this money do the same thing he is doing when it comes to morality. They 'print' their own morality and they 'print' as much of it as they damn well want to.
We NEED a 'basis', one that cannot be moved, manipulated or changed. In currencies this is gold. In morality this is the Judeo Christian value system. Unfortunately people don't like being 'restricted' by a stupid standard. Leaders don't want the resrictions of a stupid old fashioned piece of metal. Hell it messes with the stuff they want to do. Same is true of individuals and values. They hate the restrictions. Stupid old fashioned junk. Messes with their stuff. So are we going back to the basis of a gold standard? Don't know. Tell me first, are we going back to a moral standard?
Without a basis we are like people lost at sea with no land in sight. Eventually people start going crazy at sea because they were made for land. You eventually NEED land. It may be fun at first riding the waves but eventually you need land. The same is true with moral absolutes. Eventually people need them. Even people who don't want to follow the standard, need to know it is there for security if they need it. Everybody needs to know where home base(or basis) is when they need it. When things get chaotic. Again think gold.
Cut flowers eventually die. America was planted in the soil of the Judeo Christian value system. This value system has produced the greatest nation in all of history. But in the last several decades many in America are pulling the plant out of the soil. Without the soil the flowers will look pretty for a while and make them believe everything is ok. But eventually cut flowers die. I think we have about a decade. One decade. But eventually.....cut flowers die.
Anonymous -
Deletethanks for those comments. I concur fully.
The breakdown in "absolutes" and the blurring of the lines between good and evil, righteousness and sin, light and darkness, manifests itself in all aspects of our society.
Certainly it can be seen in the current monetary system which has produced a multitude of people who can now actually cheer the debauchery of a nation's currency by a group of central planners.
It was once thought immoral, if not criminal, to inflict one generation's profligacy upon the next. Not any more - it is cheered and welcomed.
we, the human beings of earth, are responsible for all the good and all the evil in this world and we are the ones who must painstakingly, step by step, fix everything and not abandon our responsibility and accepting such responsibleness to right all wrongs, through making mistakes and correcting them, endlessly, until we've got it right, as is done in trading stocks, as is done in actual life, in everything on this world, in ones thinking & feeling, subsequent actions & deeds, all which create our life, our successes & failures... mistakes are the way of the learning and correcting them is the way of success ... to blame some power outside of ourselves is a cowardly abandonment of taking the responsibility -
ReplyDelete"EXACTLY what the MOST HIGH is indeed doing to this nation. As He turns HIS BACK on us, in response to the nation turning its back on Him,.."
I don't know any good, wise father who would turn his back on his far more unknowing child as you are accusing "the MOST HIGH" father of doing to his children .. what kind of a father does that!?
do you blame your bad trades on your father or do you analyze what YOU did wrong & correct YOUR mistakes?
Bruce;
DeleteSpoken like a true secularist and like one who has carved an image of whatever god it is that you might happen to believe in your own mind.
The Most High is not just a Father, He is also the Judge of Heaven and Earth and if you believe in the concept of Sin and Evil, then you must also believe in the concept of One who judges such things.
The Scriptures are replete with instance after instance of God abandoning nations which turned their backs on Him.
This is so obvious that anyone with a passing knowledge of them knows and understands this.
It is also obvious that you have no such acquaintance.
Again, please spare me and others of my belief system your ignorant comments and stop reading this site. I charge nothing to share the wisdom I have acquired in more than two decades of trading. The least such freeloaders as yourself can do is to have the good courtesy to accept my views as mine own and stop haranguing me for espousing them.
Like I have said others, no one is forcing you to come to this site. You can either accept that these are my views and quietly accept that while you read my market comments or you can simply stop coming here to read if you are that offended.
Dan, powerful and sobering post. I couldn't agree more. Morality is and always has been the cornerstone of every functional and healthy society. Moral decay has brought down many a nation throughout history, the Roman Empire being one of the most prominent examples. I once read that the pattern of most nations goes something like this: From bondage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency, from complacency to moral decay, from moral decay back to bondage. Seems to be the pattern of today's U.S.A. God bless.
ReplyDeleteWE must be examples so they will learn the truth - never give up never give in , EVER ! Thank you for standing up. May our Redeemers Love be with you and your family during this Advent Season - MaSymbolum Nicaenum
ReplyDeleteCredo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. [kneel] Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est. [stand] Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per prophetas.
Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
Lest we forget, as we watch the moral decay of the greatest nation on earth, the Lord's words should echo in our ears forevermore " If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face,and turn from their wicked ways,then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14. And there you have it- ignore the Lord and His ways, and He will ignore us. Plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteVery well stated Dan. Thank you for speaking the truth, that clearly many here are not interested in hearing. You'd have to be seriously blind and deaf not to see some correlation between the decline in Christian moral values vs the rise in humanism/secularism relative to the decay & increasing rot in our society. Having once been a non believer there was nothing I hated more though than having some quote, "Bible thumping religious person", tell me I needed saving because of my fallen nature. In an ego fueled world of me, myself & I many resent the thought of surrendering to a higher moral entity. Like the Apostle Paul after his encounter on the road to Damascus it didn't take long to realize that in spite of my rebellion God's grace was bigger. While many wait and pray for Christ's return to end this insanity sadly my Bible declares that; "But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool." Hebrews 10:12-13. It is up to believers in this world to put the enemy underfoot & to set the standard that Christ taught. But actions, as Christ displayed, speak much louder than shoving someones sin down their throat and an an attitude of non godly self-righteousness. Unfortunately religion is as alive & well today as it was in the day of our Lord. It is not guns that kill, rather it is fallen humans in need of a savior and their need for a revelation of the God kind of unconditional love, not a world's love based on conditions. Hat's off to you for so eloquently laying that out in a world that doesn't want to hear the truth of the matter.
ReplyDelete